Thursday, January 28, 2010

Center Square is not the most pedestrian-friendly place in the world. The walker/driver relationship, in my opinion, should be one of mutual respect where everyone uses his best judgment, but that isn't always the case. I've come up with a simple three-point system from the pedestrian's perspective that I think would solve so many of these situations that appear to be really really difficult calls for some people:

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

(Pardon me for the poor camera phone photography. It's kind of tough to discreetly snap a pic on a full, moving bus.)

This is something that has perplexed me for a while, now. What the heck is that odd shape next to the man's head in the upper right corner of this inspirational CDTA poster? For the first few weeks I wasn't looking at it analytically, and my brain interpreted it as a graduation cap but...it really isn't.

Monday, January 11, 2010

It had been a while since I had a meal at the Wine Bar & Bistro (like, a looong while. The last time, I think, was with PDA and his parents before the Built show two and a half years ago. A long while) so this weekend when Josh and I were trying to figure out where to have our anniversary dinner it popped right into my head. While Justin's is our go-to place, we were looking for something a little more...romantical and fresh for this occasion. (Plus I had just been to Justin's with my mom for brunch the day before. Hehehe.)

At the corner of Lark and Hamilton Streets, across from the dry cleaner, there is a scrappy, adolescent tree. Even in the warmer months it struggles to sprout leaves and looks like it just might not make it another year (like most of them on Lark since the great massacre of the old growth trees a few years ago.) But this one is special. There's something...magical about this tree, especially the strange fruit it bears. For some reason people tend to lose articles of clothing at that corner. Pants, gloves, dress shoes, all of these things get left behind, and good samaritans with few options seem to get the idea to just stick them in the tree. I have no idea who started this tradition but at least once a month I'll see some recovered item deliberately balanced on the limp and scrawny limbs. It's surprising that the poor little guy can even support a pair of slacks (complete with belt) but, there they are, and they never stick around which leads me to believe that this arborial lost and found system is actually effective. In reality, someone probably just takes them, rather than the original owner having the presence of mind to return to the corner where, after stumbling out of Legends, he decided to remove his undershirt and left sock. (How does that happen?) So if you're partying on Lark and for some reason misplace one lace-up shoe, go ahead and check the giving tree at Lark and Hamilton. Your shoe may not be there, but there's a pretty good chance that someone's will be and you won't have to walk home with one bare foot. Although that might serve you right.